Selectors to discuss Bumrah's fitness, Jaiswal's spot as they finalise India's Champions Trophy squad

The selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar will convene here on Saturday to pick Indias squad for the Champions Trophy and they will have to deal with two tricky scenarios the fitness of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah and how to fit in Yashasvi Jaiswal in the provisional 15Bumrah had suffered back spasms during the recent Sydney Test against Australia and did not bowl on the final day at SCGHe has been advised offloading and his fitness is being monitored closely by the physios at the BCCI Centre of ExcellenceSo Agarkar and his colleagues along with head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma will ponder deeply over Bumrahs fitness status before taking a final call on his inclusionA clarity over the vexed scenario will be given once Agarkar and Rohit address a press conference post the selection committee meetingThat Rohit attending the press do is also the clearest indication of him retaining the captaincy in the ODIs despite swirling speculations about his future in Test cricket after a dismal tour to AustraliaIn an Instagram video the 37yearold was seen playing his signature shots including flicks drives lofted hits and pulls against the white ball during a training session hereThen there has also been a clamour from all corners to include Jaiswal in the squadThe 23yearold is in fine form right now and he will also offer the lefthand variety at the top reasons listed in favour of his selectionBut Jaiswals selection could put him in direct competition with KL Rahul as Rohit Virat Kohli Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer are certainties as Indias top fourSo if you need Jaiswal too in the squad then its a tough proposition for the selectorsIt could also be that Jaiswal will be given a chance against England in the threematch ODI series and prefer Rahul for the ICC eventThe squad for the rubber against England too will be picked on SaturdayThe primary wicketkeeper batter slot could be allotted to Rishabh Pant as Sanju Samson skipping the Vijay Hazare Trophy has not gone down well with the powers that beDhruv Jurel could come into picture in that scenario as second stumperSenior pacer Mohammed Shami will be in the squad given that he has has played most of the domestic matches and has also been drafted into Indias squad for the fivematch home T20I series against EnglandThe other name that could come up for discussion is that of onsong Karun Nair who has so far hammered 752 runs in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy at an average of 752 with five hundredsBut it is tough to find a place for him in the already densely populated middleorder that will also have allrounder Hardik PandyaHowever Karun could get a call for the onedayers against EnglandThe selectors will also seek clarity on star wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadavs fitness as he has been recuperating from a longstanding groin injuryKuldeep had shared videos of him bowling in his social media accounts and that might be counted as a good sign ahead of the selection meetingPacer Prasidh Krishna too could be on the flight to Dubai where India will open the campaign against Bangladesh on February 20This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever